Khalid is the main character in the television series 24. He was a US marine who served in Vietnam and met his death in the Battle of Khe Sanh, also known as the Hundred Days Battle.
According to Kubrick, there were many theories on who he was; however, only one theory stuck: “My mother was Jewish, my father was Scottish, and I had some Yiddish blood.” From his perspective, the most important person he ever knew was Leonard Nimoy.
The movie adaptation also introduces a new villain, Kenneth Chaplin. Based on the book and film, he is a lower-level double agent of the US Government. Born in Scotland, Chaplin is fascinated by the concept of espionage.
When asked about his choice for the character, Kubrick stated, “I didn’t want to write the same character all over again.” He felt that the character of Khalid was perfect for a man in his middle years. In particular, Kubrick felt that while he didn’t want to commit to a gay relationship, he did want the audience to feel a certain level of attraction towards the character, because it was a “light” weight and straightforward man.
As far as his ideas for the series goes, Kubrick says that he liked the idea of writing for the first season only to see if the audience liked it and then expanding into other characters and areas. He believed that the first season of the show would allow him to create a natural balance between personal and political themes, and this idea has worked out very well.
He also said that he loved the idea of a post-modern spy-fantasy movie; the idea of the characters living under surveillance. The constant shifting between reality and fantasy was the key to keeping the series from going “too far.” In addition, he was aware that some viewers were offended by the idea of an Arab being the main villain.
In another interview, Kubrick said that he considered using an alien in one episode, but changed his mind because he didn’t like the idea of the audience believing that the entire show was created by an alien. He felt that the audience should be able to accept the different myths and religious beliefs that came along with each character. To achieve this, he wanted to use each character’s traits to their maximum effect, but keep it off-screen.
One thing that a lot of fans agree on is that he never really managed to make good war movies like Paths of Glory or Dr. Strangelove. Still, some of his best films are the ones where he tried to explore different personalities, and those aren’t always the best.
